


A Wolf Like That

by shhbechloe



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/F, Twilight References, because I stole the background of the wolves and did a butt ton of research, possibly a little OOC, the only references to twilight are the wolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-09-22
Packaged: 2018-07-29 07:51:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7676245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shhbechloe/pseuds/shhbechloe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily Fields, 23, still hopelessly in love with her high school crush, Alison Dilaurentis, who just happens to find Emily on the worst night of her life and saves her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. That Fateful Night

**Author's Note:**

> Uh, it has taken a lot of courage to actually upload this on AO3, hopefully you guys enjoy.
> 
> All mistakes are mine btw, I don't re-read this stuff.

Emily was running fiercely through the woods, the wind whipping at her face harshly and her heart beating throughout her ears. It was dark, and the moonlight could only do so much to light up her path – she’d had a few close calls with branches that had come down from the storm a couple weeks ago, only missing them by inches. A rather large rock which was hidden out of sight by the leaves on the ground caught her foot, sending her tumbling forward, grazing her hands as she put them out to steady her fall. The thud reverberated through her as she fell to the ground.

Panic erupted through her veins, and she swore she could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She scrambled to get up but pain shot through her body as she did so, she looked back at her ankle which had been injured during the fall, the tell-tale signs of a wound seeped through her jeans. Even if she could pick herself up – which in this moment Emily didn’t think was possible because her arms and hands were shaking violently – she didn’t think she’d make it very far.

And then she heard it again.

The growling, which was now turning into a vicious snarl, one that sent chills through your entire body.

Glancing over her shoulder she looked at the creature who was lowering its front body closer to the ground, moving into a position which was ready to attack. Terrified beyond words, she tried to move again, trying to commando crawl forward, but a sharp pain shooting through her leg stopped her and released a strained cry into the night.

This was it. This was how Emily Fields was going to die. A freak encounter with a lone vicious wolf, and she’d be helpless to do anything about.

Emily registered the tears streaming down her face, some of them from the pain in her arms and ankle, and some from the fact that this was it. This was going to be the end.

Without a warning the wolf made a lunge for her and at the same time, seemingly out of nowhere a white blur erupted from the bushes, its own growl piercing the night as it collided with the other wolf knocking both of them away from Emily.

She watched the fight, too terrified to try moving again. The two wolves – if she really could call them that, they were much larger than your ordinary wolf – clashed against each other, teeth and claws extended. For a moment it seemed that her saviour wolf was going to lose as it got slammed to the ground, and grief ran through Emily. That didn’t last long as the other wolf stalked back over to her, snagging the opportunity to get back to his feast. Emily.

Yet again, just as the wolf got within metres of her, the white wolf leapt between her and the other snarling beast, Emily caught a glimpse of the wolf’s front leg, blood caking the otherwise perfect white fur. The fight erupted again, much more vicious this time.

Snarling, growling and the snapping of jaws were exchanged between them. Dirt flying everywhere as they ripped up the ground, and then in the blink of an eye the fighting stopped. The wolf who was going to attack Emily, was defeated its neck clutched in between the white wolf’s jaw.

She watched with widened eyes as the wolf turned to look at her, and it was silent for a moment, before a bone crushing crack reverberated throughout the woods. The wolf had bitten down with such force to break the others neck, Emily clamped shaking hands over her mouth as a gasp escaped her body. And then another thundering thud echoed as the white wolf dropped the other wolf, blood seeping from between both their teeth.

Feeling overwhelmed with emotion and the constant pain that rumbled throughout her body, Emily lowered her head and tried to calm herself down, deep shuddering intakes of air desperately trying to calm her racing heartbeat. She also couldn’t bear to look at the slowly pooling blood, she had almost been killed, that could’ve very well been her blood pooling on the forest floor instead of the wolf’s.

She would be dead. She would’ve never gotten married. Would’ve never seen her mum again, nor her friends, and she never would’ve gotten the chance to tell Ali how she felt about her.

Emily thought that A had been the worst thing to ever happen in her life, dealing with the constant life threatening situations, but she’s pretty damn sure that this is going to take the cake.

The brunette slowly brought her head back up, letting her gaze land on the wolf, who was surprisingly still there and had moved closer to her, now only a few feet away. Its head was bent, licking at its front leg, soothing the injury that Emily had seen earlier.

It was difficult to explain but she felt indebted to this wolf, after all it had saved her life, risking its own life and limb. Wouldn’t that be a story to rock Rosewood? Emily could see it now, printed in bold: _Former Rosewood High’s star swimmer Emily Fields put away at Radley claiming that a wolf saved her life._

Emily couldn’t stop the shaky – humourless – chuckle that escaped her mouth at the thought, the wolf lifted its head at the sound, eyes meeting Emily’s with a piercing gaze.

The brunette was brought, very quickly, back to the reality of the situation, and she remembered that she wasn’t out of the woods yet, this wolf could have easy saved her for its own selfish want. They stared at each other for a long time, almost sizing each other up. As Emily stared into the blue orbs, the fear started to slip away instead being replaced by a safer feeling. Her heartbeat stopped hammering in her ears, and her breathing became even.

The wolf must have sensed her calming down, and decided this was a perfect moment to rip away the safety net that had fallen over Emily. It slowly stood up and padded the short distance to her, once in front of her Emily could take in just how tall the creature was. If she was to stand up the wolf would be as tall as her, easily. Her heart was back to pounding away in her ears, but she ignored it as she saw the powerful muscles move underneath its fur as the wolf padded from foot to foot.

She forced her eyes to close, fearing that the safe feeling was a lie, and that she was probably going to die. Goodbyes fluttered quickly through her head.

_I’m so sorry mum, I’m sorry Aria, Spencer and Hanna. I love you guys. Ali, I loved you forever and I’m sorry I never got to tell you._

And then she waited. She waited for the eternal darkness to take over her body. For the blinding pain that would inevitably come when she felt the sharp bloodstained fangs sink into her skin, ripping the flesh off her bones.

She waited.

But, the darkness never came.

The blinding pain never came.

All she felt was the warm panting breath being blown across her face.

Snapping her eyes open and casting them upwards, Emily gasped. Staring down at her were the bluest eyes she’d ever seen, almost on par with Ali’s. Emily felt the warmth radiating off the wolf from their closeness, wondering for a short moment what that fur would feel like under her hands. Her mind started to blur at the edges, and her vision also blurred, the wolf coming in and out of focus. She was sure that her body would succumb to some type of darkness tonight, and it was probably going to happen soon. It was a darkness that she was going to welcome with open arms, anything to get her out of this very real, and very traumatic situation.

Unable to stop the inevitable, she allowed the darkness to take over her as her body slumped to the ground. As her eyes were closing she managed to see a flash of blonde curls and feebly hear a feminine voice quietly murmur, “Shit.”


	2. Hospital Fog

It was like being pulled away from one reality and into another one, not fully knowing which one was real. She could hear quiet whispering and the beeping of a machine.

The hospital, of course.

She also doesn’t quite remember what happened, a few blurred memories pop up of her running and big bulking creatures moving fast in the distance. Most of it was darkness, but everybody says there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and for Emily that light was the brightness of the intense blue eyes which she doesn’t think she’ll ever forget.

Oh yes, and there was also the pain, that she’ll never forget either.

It only took a few seconds, and her trying to shift herself, for her to be aware of just how much pain her body was in. A low groan emitted from her. Emily blinked her eyes open and took in the white room of the hospital, sunlight shining through a window the harsh light almost blinding her. The brunette immediately shut them and let a louder groan pass.

“Oh thank god!”

The relieved voice she knew and could now understand, was her mother. Opening her eyes again, slower this time and leaving them at a narrow squint. She felt the side of her bed dip and looked upwards to see her mum’s tired and worrisome face looking back at her with concern, faint but dark circles underneath her eyes.

Emily tried to give out a reply but found her mouth incredibly dry, looking around the room she spotted a glass of water on her bedside table. She reached for it only to see another hand grasp it and offer her the tip of the straw. Alison looked at her with the same worry that her mum had, she greedily drank the water, her mouth and body feeling better from the hydration. Alison set the glass back down, laying a hand on Emily’s shoulder.

“W-” Her voice still hoarse, she cleared her throat and tried again, “What happened?” Emily leaned back into her pillows, relishing in the softness of them.

“You mean you don’t remember?” Alison asks cautiously.

Emily looked down and shook her head. “I remember…” The same flashes of images flashed through her mind. None of them making any real sense. “I don’t know what I remember, most of the images are blurry and don’t make a lot of sense.”

“That’s a common reaction for your brain after a traumatic event, it should clear up within a few days,” a different voice with a British accent commented.

Looking up, Emily turned her head to see a third figure standing within the threshold of her bedroom door. He looks young. Dressed in a professional white doctor’s coat and a gentle smile on his face, Emily squinted her eyes further and made out his last name that was printed in blue on his name tag. Kingston.

Emily must’ve shown confusion because she watched as he walked over to her, “I wasn’t supposed to be in town, but I’ve been helping Mrs Hastings with some things this past week, and Ali wanted only the best doctor working on you, so I got called in,” he finished with a kind smile.

Emily nodded in understanding, she hadn’t seen Wren for years, he looks different now with a shorter cut hair style and a wedding ring decorating his left hand.

“Why are you here?” She turned to the blonde, who had remained silent, still resting her hand on Emily’s shoulder.

“I, uhm, brought you here, Em.”

“What? How?”

“Honey, Alison brought you here last night, carrying you in her arms unconscious, she apparently made quite a scene in emergency.” Emily’s mum chuckled.

Emily let the new information sink in while her mind continued to race. She’d been unconscious, which obviously makes sense. Had Ali really carried her in her arms? How did she even find her anyway? Questions filled her brain quicker than she could answer them, which only added to the growing confusion. She started to feel lightheaded, and pressed a sweaty palm to her forehead, rubbing softly.

“This is all going to be hard to take in, as your mind adjusts to the new information and tries to remember what happened. It’ll result in –” Emily releases a frustrated groan, “headaches.” Wren said with a knowing sympathetic smile. “I advise you to take the next couple of days, maybe even a week off before you start getting on your feet again. Which reminds me. I’ve bandaged your ankle, you’ll be happy to know that it’s only a sprain, but there is a nasty wound so be sure to clean it daily and re-bandage it for at least two weeks.”

“The rest of your injuries should heal over the next couple of days with good care. I’ll also be coming by your house making a visit every other day to check up on you and see how you’re going. Healing wise.”

Emily thanked Wren, her mother walking out with him to discuss further matters. She would have to call the girls when she got home, thinking that they would want to know what happened to her when she didn’t show up at Spencer’s this morning. Emily caught the end of the conversation her mum was having with Wren, something about the medical expenses already being paid for. The looked over at Ali, who had now sat down on the end of her bed she was already goofily smiling at Emily.

“Thank you.”

“For?”

“For everything, paying for me and also finding me,” Emily stopped, wondering if she should ask, if her headache would lesson enough so she could take in the information properly. It didn’t seem like that was going to happen, so Emily asked anyway, “How did you, find me?”

Alison opened her mouth to reply only to be interrupted by Pam walking back into the room, Emily took the chance to notice how tired she looked, obviously not sleeping much last night. Her mum lifted her head a little higher, a light smile dawning her face told her that she was relieved that her little girl was okay.

“Do you need anything? More water? What about some food?”

Her stomach rumbled at the thought of food, and Ali released a chuckle, “Some food would be great, mum.”

“Sure, hang in tight honey, I’ll be right back.”

A silence fell over the two girls, Emily not sure she wanted to ask the question from before again, and Alison scrolling through her phone. Her blonde curls rough from the lack of sleep, they laid limply against her head. Emily felt her body relax, and she laid her head back down, closing her eyes. Maybe some sleep would do her good, let her body regenerate.

A sharp ringing broke through, and mildly startled Emily not enough to break her resolve of sleeping though. Alison apologized quickly and stepped out of the room.

_The dream almost felt like she was underwater, the sides of her vision blurry. She could feel a warmth press against her back, slim but strong arms curled around her providing protection from what just happened. Hooked securely under her neck and knees as she was lifted from the ground and moved away. There was also a voice, low but feminine, almost a constant whisper which reassured her that everything will be okay. Emily still fading in and out of consciousness, she felt her vision clear for a moment, and she was able to see a perfectly clear picture of mussed curled blonde hair, bouncing around as her carrier walked briskly. She knew those curls, knew that face. She memorized every contour of that face when she was in seventh grade, but above all, she knew those burning bright blue eyes that had tears falling freely from them._

She felt herself being violently shaken out of her… dream? No, that had felt like a piece of the puzzle fitting itself in. Blinking awake again, Emily saw her mum holding both of her shoulders, the tray of food discarded on a nearby chair.

“Sorry honey, but Dr. Kingston says you need to stay awake.” She stated with worry, before walking over to get the lunch she had gotten from the hospital cafeteria.

A realization dawned on Emily, that not only had this been a traumatizing event for her – she cursed ‘A’ for making her so comfortable with these types of events – but it had also been traumatizing for her mother. Getting a call at 4 in the morning saying that her only child was in hospital, Emily shuddered at the thought of her mum frantically driving over, sleep still in her eyes.

Emily moved to hug her mum, her body protesting violently, with bolts of pain zipping throughout her, but she ignored them entirely. “I’m here mum, I’m okay now.”


	3. Questions, questions, questions

Emily learnt that Alison had left after getting the phone call, her mum said something about needing to meet her ex-husband at their house. The brunette ended up with another headache while trying to figure out what had happened between Elliot and Alison that would make them divorce, according to Aria they had been so in love when they came to her and asked her to marry them. Emily made sure to make a mental note to talk to Alison about it, maybe it had something to do with the letters they had exchanged during the 5 years she'd been away.

It had been a week since the incident, her wounds had been healing nicely apart from her ankle which was still bruised a deep shade of purple. Wren had come around every second day like he said he would, giving her pain killers, and dressing some of the more intense scars on her hands. He hadn't been back for a couple days now, saying that he was happy how she was recovering and would check in weekly, unless issues arise.

The girls had been over the very second that Emily got home, opening the door and rushing out to help her up the stairs to her room, where they had brought coffee, horrible chick flick movies and a trillion more pillows – most of them pink, so she assumed Hanna had been in charge of that.

The questions hadn't flooded in right away, they watched a movie, ate popcorn and even helped Emily into the shower – which had been more awkward than she'd like to admit. Only when she came hobbling back into her room, a dark blue towel wrapped around her hair and her most comfortable pj's already on, did she get assaulted with questions.

What happened?

Why were you out so late?

How did Alison find you?

One out of three she could answer with confidence. She'd been out running, keeping herself in shape now that Alison had got her a job at Rosewood High, teaching swimming. Emily runs at early hours of the morning because it's quiet, because all those years ago with 'A' she couldn't, and now that she can it's like a big 'fuck you' to their childhood tormentor.

When she brought up the fact that Alison hadn't gotten in contact with her yet, Spencer spoke up and said that she wasn't in town. Apparently, the blonde had left a day after Emily got out of the hospital, a few packed bags chucked into the back of her black sedan at the early hour of 4 am. Spencer had seen her because she'd been up editing papers for her mum's election, and she'd heard the roar of the car.

It's strange, for Alison to just leave like that, no warning. She had classes to teach, and it was unlike Ali to not tell the girls – or at the very least one of them – where she was going.

_SENT: (11:01) Ali, when you get this please text me back._

_SENT: (2:39) Hey, just wondering if you got my text._

_SENT: (9:12) When you get back into town can we meet up?_

_SENT: (1:00) Ali, please, I have a lot of blanks, and I need some answers._

It had been three days since she sent the barrage of texts, and still nothing. The time passed slowly, Hanna was constantly at her house waiting on her, and watching crappy rom coms. Spencer would pop over whenever her mum let her have half an hour away from the campaign, and Aria showed up a couple of times before having to fly back to Boston to help her boss – who was apparently the embodiment of Satan.

She didn't sleep well, Wren had given her something for it, but the pills made her life unfocused. They clouded the edge of her vision like the memory of that night. Emily didn't take them after the first night, even if she desperately wanted to sleep as well as she did with them.

The memory of that night started to reveal itself in the form of nightmares, she'd wake up caked in sweat feeling the beads running down her neck. She had seen wolves that night, but she didn't tell the girls when they brought up the conversation. She didn't tell them that the wolves had been hulking creatures which tore up the ground they fought on, didn't tell them how the blood cascaded from the white wolf's mouth after it had broken the neck of the other. She sure as hell didn't tell them the safe feeling that washed over her when the wolf had stopped in front of her, panting directly into her face.

No, she couldn't tell them, they'd think she was crazy. Possibly crazy enough for Radley.

Emily was up and walking a few days later, her ankle – still bruised – was no longer aching and she was actually able to put pressure on it. She still hadn't told the girls anything about that night, even though most of her memory had come back and the haziness that had surrounded those memories was gone.

Well, Emily still didn't know how and why Alison had found her, but she was hundred percent sure she wasn't going to get answers about that until the blonde decided to come back to town. Which looked like it wasn't going to be for a while, she had already been gone for a week with nothing exchanged between the girls. No replies back to Emily, no note left on her front door. Nothing. Emily feared that Alison had disappeared again, that they would fall back to the same situation from 5 years ago.

The brunette shook her head, no, 'A' was no longer a threat to them, and Charlotte was at Welby State Psychiatric Hospital getting the help she needed. Emily wondered if she'd left to go help Jason at Carissimi, he had taken over the company when his father stepped down – after Mr. Dilaurentis found out what Charlotte had done, he couldn't bear to be connected to her through the company, he'd rather wash his hands of all his kids than deal with what had happened. As far as Emily knew, Ali hadn't talked to her father for a year now, their relationship had become strained after he found out that she was helping Charlotte.

Jason had been bitter at the start as well, but had come around to the fact that this person was as much a part of their family as Spencer was.

Emily snapped out of her thoughts when her phone buzzed loudly on the kitchen counter, speaking of the devil.

"Hey, Spence."

"Emily, hey. How are you feeling today?"

"Well I made it down the stairs without tripping," she heard a chuckle escape from Spencer, the girls had all been witness to Emily nearly falling down the stairs when her foot gave out on her the other day. "I'm just making lunch, what's up?

"Well, Alison just got back into town..." Spencer was muffled out after that, talking about how she had only been home for a little while. Emily didn't really listen, she was to overcome with relief. Relief that she was finally going to get some answers from Alison, about her side of the story, and happiness that she can see her again. The brunette was really starting to worry that she wasn't coming back.

"Em?"

"Oh, shit, sorry Spencer. Is Ali still at her house?"

"Yeah, doesn't look like she's going to be leaving anytime soon."

Satisfied with that, Emily said a quick goodbye to Spencer, telling her that they would catch up later this week over coffee. The brunette abandoned the sandwich, throwing out the buttered pieces of bread and grabbed a jacket from the coat hanger near the door. She reached the end of their driveway, about to unlock her car when she found out she had forgotten to pick up her keys.

"Idiot," Emily mumbled under her breath, briskly walking back to the house.

"Time to go see Ali, I guess."

 


	4. History Lessons, and Big Reveals

The brunette had been standing outside of Alison’s door for about 20 minutes now, she was currently contemplating how to explain everything that happened that night. Also she wasn’t to make sure she wasn’t going to spurt out a million questions as soon as the blonde opened her door. _Well here goes nothing,_ and the brunette raised a scuffed hand to the jarrah wood door knocking gently.

Moments later, Alison opened the door, dressed in a ripped plaid shirt and some black jeans. Her hair was in a messy bun atop her head, and makeup was void from her face, Emily thought she looked like a goddess when she was like this. “You been chopping wood?”

“Ha ha, very funny Em,” Alison rested a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow, “Why’d you pop by? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I’ve been resting for weeks now, although I probably shouldn’t have walked all the way over here,” Emily shifted her weight to her other leg, finally feeling the pain radiating through her body, “Can I come in?”

Alison moved to the side and welcomed the brunette inside, the house hadn’t changed much over the years except for the photos that had her family in were now photos of her and the girls along with Alison and Elliot. Although, Emily assumed those wouldn’t be around for long.

Pepe bounded into the house from the open back door, he barked softly at Emily and brushed up against her legs as she sat down on a barstool. Alison offered a cold drink and went about making it, chopping up strawberries and dropping them into the jug of water.

“I didn’t peg you for a gardener,” The brunette had seen the dirty gardening gloves on the end of the bench as she walked in, a few pots with light lilac flowers and yellow roses sitting in them were also on the bench.

“I’m not, but mum was and she would murder me if I let the flower bed go to waste. Also, it’s quite relaxing and I get to play with Pepe when I take breaks,” Alison couldn’t contain the smile that burst onto her face, even though she was going through tough times with her ex, Emily was glad that she had something that was keeping her happy.

A glass got pushed over to Emily, with a piece of strawberry on the edge and a few pieces floating around in the water. She gulped it greedily, not knowing how thirsty she had been. “Oh my god, this is amazing!”

The blonde hummed her thanks, before motioning to the back door, they made their way out to two patio deck chairs that overlooked the garden. Pepe bounded about the grass before grabbing a Frisbee and bringing it back to Emily, barking excitedly for her to throw it.

Comfortable silence fell over them, Alison was glad to be spending time with someone other than her dog, and Emily was enjoying getting out of the house she’d been cramped into for the past few weeks.

“Can I talk to you about something?”

“You want to know how I found you,” It hadn’t been a question, Alison had posed it as a statement because of course she knew that Emily was here for that exact reason. There really wasn’t much the blonde didn’t know, Emily gulped down the rest of her drink before answering.

“Yeah, I really do. See I have all these memories of that night and most of the questions I’ve been able to answer myself, but the one I can’t is how you found me.”

The blonde shifted in the deck chair so she could looked at Emily directly, placing her drink down on the floor, “If I give you answers, you’ll only end up with more questions.”

_Of course she’s being mysterious,_ Emily rolled her eyes, knowing that the blonde was going to try and dodge her prodding questions. It didn’t matter, she needed to know even if it did give her a headache she needed – and deserved – to know.

“I need answers.”

“Have you ever heard of the Anamosa tribe?”

Emily shook her head, they had taken history in school but never once had the Emily learned about tribes or anything of the type.

“Anamosa means White Fawn, they were a tribe of warriors and chieftains that were about to leave their bodies and wander the Earth as spirits, communicating with animals. They were also able to hear each of the tribe’s thoughts while being a spirit.”

“What does this have to do with you rescuing me?”

“Patience Emily, I’ll get there,” She winked, before continuing as she played with the tips of her fingers picking at imperfections nervously, “Obviously that all hasn’t been confirmed, and only the last remaining people of the tribe would be able to tell the truth. Another thing that makes the Anamosa tribe feared and well-known is the fact that people had thought they were shape-shifters.”

“Like twilight?”

“Exactly, a lot of the background for the twilight shape-shifters came from the Anamosa.”

Emily started to wonder where the blonde was going with this extensive background of the tribe, had the wolves that fought been one of the tribe’s. It would explain the werewolf like height of the beasts, although it didn’t explain as why that white wolf saved her when the other had wanted to kill her.

“Unbeknown to people today, only a few of the tribe still live in our society. Mostly men, who live in the Rocky Mountain ranges living off the land and still living by the code of the tribe.”

“Are there women?”

“Well, in the tribe history only two women were accepted into the fray, and these women would most likely become the wives of the chieftains; among other things.”

“Ali, as much as I love the history lesson. Why exactly are you telling me?”

The blonde got up from the patio chair and ushered Emily inside, they slowly made their way up to the master bedroom before Alison pulled out an old worn and torn wooden box from underneath her bed. It had small engravings sketched into it, such as the symbol for Earth and water among many others. The blonde opened it gently, keeping most of the contents hidden from the prying eyes of Emily before she reached in and took out a long leather necklace with a metal pendant tied into the bottom of it.

“What is it?” The brunette asked as Alison slipped the – surprisingly heavy – wolf head necklace into her hands. It wasn’t the perfect shape of a head, almost like someone had spent hours etching away at a chunk of metal to make it perfect. It had a rustic feel to it, and Emily thought she might break it if she held it with too much force.

“It’s the pendant that the chieftains gave to tribe members when they first phase.”

Emily’s head snaps up, clutching the pendant a little tighter, “What? Wait, does that mean?”

“The history books don’t know everything, they especially don’t know about the third female who chose to live in society rather than roaming the mountain ranges.”

“You? You’re the third female?”

“Yes Em, I’m a shaman of the Anamosa tribe,” Alison puffed out her chest, gaining a confidence that Emily hadn’t seen for a long time, “and I’m also a shape-shifter. I was the white wolf that saved you that night. It was how I found you.”


	5. Revelations and Noel Kahn

“I don’t even know how to reply to that,” Emily rose from the floor, the wolf pendant in her hand now making much more sense than it had before. Alison was a werewolf, or shape-shifter as her tribe called it. Oh my god, Alison was a part of a tribe, like old timey native Indian kind of tribe.

“Em, I won’t hate you if you leave,” the blonde clutched her hands together, looking down at the floor as the brunette kept pacing back and forth, “If all of this is too much for you.”

Emily stopped and looked back to the girl, even though this was a lot nothing would make her turn her back on Alison not after all the shenanigans that happened with ‘A’. No, Emily had walked away from Ali too many times in the past, she wasn’t going to do it again. So what, her best friend and love of her life – Emily winced, no she wasn’t going to explore those feelings right now – was a werewolf who saved her. _Wait._

“You killed that wolf.”

“I protected you, saved you.”

“Yeah but you killed him, does that mean yo- you killed a person?”

The blonde fumbled over a few words, playing with the hem of her shirt while looking everywhere else but Emily. That was all the confirmation that the brunette needed, that thing – _person_ , Emily corrected herself – was dead. Someone’s life gone just like that.

“Hey, I know that look,” Alison closed the distance between them, gathering the trembling hands of the swimmer. Emily realised how warm the blonde’s hands were, the heat seared into her almost like it burned and would leave lifelong impressions. “It was you or him Emily. I couldn’t just stand by and see you ripped to shreds.”

“No I know, but you didn’t have to kill him.”

“Yes I did, he wouldn’t have stopped otherwise.”

“What do you mean?”

Alison brought Emily over to her bed, and gathered the wooden box from the floor, placing it just off to the side from them. She smiled softly, almost like she was trying to break the tightening air that swirled around them. “There is a feud going on between our tribe and another dying tribe, they are trying to get rid of us so that their lines will be the last ones.”

“But what does that have to do with me? Did he come after me because I know you?”

“For me to tell you that, you’ll need some more of my history lesson first,” Alison smiled as she crossed her legs, the brunette followed suit and laid back against the headboard of the bed. “In our tribe, or pack as we like to call it, there is always one shaman.”

“Which is you,” Emily cut the blonde off, she was mentally writing most of this down hoping to remember everything that Alison was going to tell her.

“Yes. As our tribe evolved and newer generations replaced the older ones, our powers changed, a lot of them getting lost in teachings that never got taught to us. Nowadays the pack can only shape-shift into wolves, and then while in our wolf form we can also communicate telepathically. Except for the shaman, we can still communicate with animals which is a small benefit and definitely not as cool as leaving our bodies to wander as spirits.”

“Well I certainly don’t mind, I like your spirit right where it is,” Emily leaned over to prod Alison’s chest, “right there where it’s safe.”

The blonde couldn’t stop the smile that broke out on her face, “In each pack there is only ever one shaman at any given time, and we automatically become the Alpha of the pack when and if the current Alpha dies.”

“Who is the current Alpha?”

“Noel.”

“Noel, as in Noel Kahn?”

“Yes, he’s been Alpha for as long as I can remember, no one has dared to challenge him for the ranking,” Alison grabbed a throw pillow and hugged it tightly, she doesn’t like Noel being in charge and she never has. He is prone to anger and thus made the rest of the pack just like him, so much blood has been spilled by their teeth and Alison shudders at the thought of it all.

“I’m guessing the pack doesn’t like him in that position?”

“They wouldn’t dare say anything to him about it for fear of invoking the fight for Alpha that they surely know they would lose, but yes a small amount of the pack have said that they don’t like what he has turned them into.”

“Why not challenge him? If there are enough of them, couldn’t they overthrow him?”

“No, the fight must be between the challenger and the Alpha and it’s always a fight to the death.”

“Wow, I never knew being a part of a tribe would be so deadly,” Emily cracks a small smile, and nudges the blonde softly with her elbow, the tension in the air had enveloped them and the brunette wanted nothing more than the hug Alison until all this would fade away.

“It didn’t used to be like this,” and Emily saw the blonde’s face fall, almost like she was lost in some sort of distant memory. Alison remembered the time in which her mother was the Alpha, and how the pack had been one of peace and love. The feud was still brewing – nothing would have stopped it from erupting – but her mother was dealing with it the best she could, and in the end that was how it stole away her life. The blonde had been informed by Noel that a wolf from the Fury tribe had been sent to kill her, and hopefully ripple a break between the pack that would make them go into hiding. Alison never knew that Noel wouldn’t let that happen, seizing the opportunity to take the role himself.

Now all the blonde wanted to do is rest, she was tired of tending to wounds and healing wolves that came back from fights or recon mission’s that went bad. She was tired of doing nightly checks on each of her friends as they slept silently, not knowing that there were constantly shape-shifters trying to get to them.

“Ali?”

Brought out of her thoughts by the soft voice Emily spoke with, she hummed in response, and waited for Emily to continue.

“I’m sorry you’re dealing with all this,” she clasped her hand around the blonde’s, “But you know you can talk to me anytime, about anything.”

“Thanks Em,” Alison contemplated saying it, saying the three words she had wanted to say since Emily had gotten back to Rosewood, since the feelings from all those years ago came back to the surface. She had just told her some supernatural shit was going on, so why the hell not, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Emily said it immediately, almost like there had been no pause between the two confessions. It was a confession, right? Or maybe the brunette was looking into this situation with too much hope, and all Alison needed right now was a friend someone she could truly trust and confess things to.

Never the less, as Emily left the girl’s house (they hadn’t spoken anymore about the tribe, and Emily desperately tried to think why the angry wolf had been after her that night, she’d ask Ali again later) the three words that had been spoken between them were the only thing that rattled around in her head.


	6. Flashbacks and Coming Out

"I think you should tell the girls."

"W-what?"

"Well, they deserve to know, especially if we are in danger," Emily folded another item of her washing, laying it down on the pile. It had been a few weeks since they talked about everything, in that time nothing major had happened. Alison had left town a few times to deal with tribe related incidents, while Emily covered with the other girls saying that Jason had wanted her there for some major company business meetings. Emily brought this up now, because she had found Alison outside of her house last night in her wolf form growling at the pitch black.

_"Ali?" The brunette snuggled into her hoodie even more as the cold chill of the night air nipped at her exposed face, she had been awoken by the growling and automatically assumed it would be Alison... or another wolf trying to eat her. She was glad to find out it was the former of the two._

_The white wolf turned to her and snapped its jaw, a long tongue poking out to lick around its fangs before darting back in. The aggressiveness dissolves from her face and she pads over to Emily, brushing her face against the brunette in an almost hug._

_"What are you even doing here, huh?" Emily cupped Alison's face and pressed her nose against the cold nose of the wolf, smiling at the simple intimacy of it all. As soon as the moment fell over them, it was gone as Alison spun around the same aggressiveness cementing back onto her face._

_"Ali, come on," The brunette ran a hand along the long fur of the wolf as she walked up to be in eyeshot of the wolf, "whatever, or whoever was here is now gone. You scared them off. Come back to me now."_

_The wolf tilted its head before turning away and walking over to the clothes line, Emily had left a few white sheets out to hang in the cold night air. "You okay Ali?"_

_Within a couple of seconds – and a few painful sounds of bones crunching and shifting back into place – the blonde had dropped her wolf form and now stood behind a sheet quickly grabbing it off the line and wrapping it around her frame._

_"Are you that cold?" Emily asked as she extended her arms for the blonde, hoping that her warmth would be enough for the girl, but as she enveloped her the only warmth was coming from Alison in tsunami waves._

_"Nope, far from it actually."_

_"Is this a wolf thing?"_

_"Yup, that's biology baby. I'll never get cold again," Alison sported a cheeky grin as Emily seemed to melt even more into her instead of vice versa. After a moment of silence, and hugging, because the blonde was like a heater that Emily didn't want to leave, they broke apart._

_"Wait, why are you naked?"_

_"Oh Em, you didn't think I was like one of those twilight wolves did you?"_

_"Well," Emily fumbles on her words, and if Emily wasn't blushing before she surely was now. Alison was literally only wrapped in a sheet, and if she's being honest this wasn't how Emily thought the first time she saw the blonde in a sheet would go. A gentle nudge to her bicep pulls the brunette from her internal monologue._

_"No, that whole thing where they wrap their pants to their ankle is stupid. Either I leave my clothes in a pile on the floor or they break away as I transform, no other way to it unfortunately."_

_"I can't believe I've been lied too for so long," Emily feigned shock as Alison gripped onto her arms and pulled her towards the house._

_"Come on silly, let's get you warmed up."_

"Em, don't you know that'll end up putting them in more danger if I told them."

"Well aren't they already in danger? You said yourself that you patrol all of our houses, and you've found wolves outside of Aria's and Spencer's house before. So obviously the Fury's are already targeting them, why not tell them so they can at least be prepared."

"Nothing can prepare them! Humans don't stand a chance against a shape-shifter, Em! If I told them, I'd just be making them worry about things that go bump during the night," A sigh came through the phone piece, Alison had been overly tired in these last few weeks. She had hardly slept since coming back from out of town, opting to patrol every night until sunrise. Emily knew the kind of toll it was taking on her, knew that if she had to fight that she would be at a disadvantage because of her nightly activities.

"I just don't want you getting hurt, and the chances of that happening are increasing every night that you patrol!"

"So what do you want me to do? Let a Fury come in and take Aria, or God forbid you, away and- and," The rest of the sentence didn't need to be voiced. If a Fury got any one of them, Emily knew that they would be killed on sight. There would be no keeping of prisoners, no bartering happening. The Fury Tribe was reckless, vicious, and they didn't care much for mortals, knowing that they were the superior of our race.

"Ali," Emily placed down her last top she had folded, falling onto her bed. She hadn't meant to upset the blonde, she only wanted her to see all of this from her point of view. If Emily had known about the wolves, and tribe warfare that was going on that night she was attacked, she wouldn't have been out... Oh.

"You didn't tell us, because you don't want us to be scared to live our lives."

The brunette heard a sniffle on the other side of the phone, and a quiet bark. She was glad that Alison had Pepe to keep her company in that empty house. "I just want to protect you all. I never did a good job of that before, and I want to make up for all of that now."

"No. You protected us to the best of your abilities all those years ago, the girls and I know that. Everything that happened, you going to jail," Emily's voice hitched, she had apologized profusely for that, so had the others. But, she felt like no matter how many sorry's she said, none of them would make up for what happened. "You were always looking out for us. So, why don't you let us help now?"

Emily would've thought that Alison had hung up, if she didn't hear the shaky breath of the blonde coming through the speaker. Since coming back to Rosewood, all the old feelings she held for Alison had come back in tidal waves. The feelings only getting stronger once she had found out the blonde was the one that saved her, and Emily knew that she would have to confront them at some point in the near future.

"Will you come with me?"

Right now, Emily had to help Alison confront the girls. She had the be the pillar of strength that 'A' had unknowingly turned her into, the brunette smiled into the phone before replying with a gentle.

"Of course."

\--

It was three days later when they could finally get everyone to stop moving and meet them at Alison's house. Spencer had been busy with her mother's campaign, she currently had an exorbitant amount of coffee running through her veins, the tips of her fingers shaking as she typed away on her phone. Hanna was busy with starting a business up with Lucas, she had walked through the door shouting complaints about having no sleep and saying that she was going cross-eyed by looking at so many documents. Aria, was more of a mystery card. The girls knew that she had a job over in Boston and that her boss would call her demanding updates every now and then, but other than that, they had no idea what she was actually doing in Rosewood.

"Can't you just forge my signature?"

"Who is she talking too?" Emily asked as she brought over a coffee for Spencer (her second one of the night), and four mugs of tea for the others.

"Lucas, he needed her to sign some forms before tomorrow for the contractors," Aria piped up, thanking Emily as she hummed into her tea, the steam fogging up her black rimmed glasses. Those had been a new addition, Alison asking the brunette about them as she entered the house. Aria had said that she wore them at night to give her eyes a break from the contacts.

"Well, I can't come right now. No, Lucas, I'm doing something important." She sighed as she looked over to the girls, running her thumb across her neck while mouthing 'this sucks.' "Yeah sure, I'll do it in the morning."

"He pissed?" Spencer asked, turning her phone onto vibrate as she leant back against the armchair, coffee cup held firmly near her face.

"Yeah, but he'll get over it," Hanna joined Aria on the love couch, placing her phone down on the table and replacing it with the tea Emily had brought over before, "It doesn't matter, you guys said you needed to tell us something important."

Alison felt a hand snake around her shoulder and rest on her back, Emily rubbing soothing circles on her. She had been dreading telling the girls about this, but she had agreed with the brunette that they deserved to know, especially if they were going to be in danger. She shifted closer to Emily, who had sat on the arm of the chair she was occupying.

"This is going to come as a shock to all of you, but Em and I have agreed that you guys need to know. The thing is-"

"Wait, are you guys together?"

"Han!"

"What? This sounds like the start of a coming out speech," Emily couldn't hide the smile that graced her face, along with Spencer who was struggling to swallow the giggles that were threatening to burst out.

"We aren't dating, Han," An 'o' formed on the blonde's face, before a quiet sorry tumbled from her lips. Alison was already regretting this, she didn't need it to be any more awkward with Emily than it already was. She'd have to talk to the brunette about her feelings soon, if her friends were seeing the connection, then obviously she wasn't hiding it very well. Before her internal freak out could continue, Alison felt Emily's hand squeeze her shoulder, encouraging her to continue.

"The thing is, there is something strange going on in Rosewood. I happen to be a part of it, and I can't keep it from you guys anymore. Not when you could be in danger."

"Ali, what's going on?" Spencer placed her mug down, moving to sit on the edge of her chair, arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed.

"There is really no easy way to say this," She clears her throat, "Werewolves are in Rosewood, more specifically my tribe and another tribe are currently having a full out feud, which you guys are now caught in as well."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like that reveal, but fuck it!


	7. Freaked Out Blondes and Love Confessions

“Okay, let’s just back up for a minute!” Hanna had been burning a hole in the floor from her pacing she had taken up after Ali’s confession, “You’re an honest to God werewolf?”

“Well, we prefer shape-shifter.”

“So, there are werewolves in Rosewood? How long have there been werewolves in Rosewood?”

“For as long as I can remember. My mother was the first ever female to phase, and the first Alpha of my tribe. I’ve basically grown up around them.”

“Wait, Mrs. D was a werewolf!?” Aria and Spencer joined Hanna this time, all three girls more shocked about that bit of information than what Alison had told them moments before.

“Hanna, take a deep breath and calm down,” Emily chimed in, she still had a steady hand resting on the back of Alison, feeling the heat from the blonde radiate off of her and up her own arm. “Ali will answer as many questions as she can, but you need to stop freaking out.”

“Alright, okay,” She walked back over to the love seat, basically falling onto the chair next to Aria, “So wolf girl, enlighten us.”

Alison filled them in on everything she had already told Emily, told them about the Fury tribe and the danger that they were in. Emily brought up the fact that she had been patrolling non-stop for the past month, and said that they would have to figure out an easier way for Alison to protect them all. The blonde went on to mention how Noel was turning the tribe into murderous and mindless killing machines with a fine toothed comb, Alison told them that if she didn’t do something soon, she would lose the pack all together.

She even gave them a brief history lesson of the tribe, talking about the past Alpha’s and how the pack is connected telepathically with each other. Per Hanna’s request, Alison talked about phasing as well, the other blonde trying to wrap her mind around the matter. There had been a pained gasp when Alison told them that when they phase they lose their clothes, all heads turned to Hanna as she clutched her chest.

“You can never phase when you wear designer clothing!”

The conversation lulled, Alison looking over at the other three girls as they pieced all the information that she had just given them together. She looked up to Emily, who still hadn’t stopped rubbing soothing circles onto her back.

“You’re doing great,” Emily smiled down at her, wanting desperately to lean forward and kiss her. She wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay, that they would figure this all out. She’d be lying. Emily was way more terrified than Alison. The blonde smiled back up to her, before her head snapped back towards the girls as Spencer spoke up.

“Ali, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, Spence.”

“You talked about the first phasing being… violent,” Alison noticed the shift of Spencer’s attitude, almost like she didn’t want to bring up the next thing she was going to say. “How was your first time?”

Alison’s face fell, the memories of so long ago being drudged up. She had tried so hard to block out all the horrifying things she did that night. Even now Alison could hear his screams, she was still woken up at night from the nightmares, his face flashing violently in front of her.

“Bloody.”

“Ali… you don’t have to talk about it,” Spencer sensed the air in the room change, it had become almost suffocating. The other girls shifted in their seats, their faces remaining fixed with worry.

“I was fifteen when I first phased. I knew that it was going to happen eventually, in the weeks leading up to it I had become quicker to anger and lose my control. The arguments I had with my mother were so explosive, I was amazed I didn’t shift after one of them.”

“It was the night that I went missing, I’d just finished seeing Ian and was making my way back to the barn to wait for a message. I never got there, one of the boy toys that I had met in Cape May that summer found me first. We fought. I- I lost control. The shift happened, a- and he ran. I chased him down, I can still remember the feeling of tearing into him. I, I killed him.”

Spencer had a hand clasped around her mouth, her eyebrows furrowed and a shocked expression presented on her face that mimicked the rest of the girls. “Ali, I didn’t. I’m so sorry to make you remember that.” The blonde shook her head, before continuing on.

“Mom found me in the woods, blood dripping from my mouth and coating my fur. I was animalistic and bloodthirsty, when you first phase you lose your mind. Literally. It wasn’t me that night, the wolf took a hold of me and rampaged. Mother guided me through the rest of the phase, letting me hunt and kill, tear up trees and such. I phased back just after midnight, we headed home, Mom had gone inside to fetch me some clothing. I was still distraught about everything, so she had left me alone, that’s when Charlotte came and ‘killed’ me.”

“Did the police ever find out who killed him?”

“No, Mom had a good way of hiding things she didn’t want getting out. I assume she had the pack get rid of his remains, and probably made up some elaborate lie about him overdosing at a party.” Tears had pricked at Alison’s eyes, accompanying the ones that had already flowed down her face, and fallen onto her top. She had never told anyone about that night, and talking about it had probably been the hardest thing she would ever do. It still scared Alison to this day how violent and feral she had been that night, she knew that it was just the first phase, knew that her mom had told her it would never happen again.

She couldn’t shake the fear that what would happen if she lost control like that again.

\--

“I am really sorry to have made you talk about that Ali,” Spencer said as she snuggled the blonde in closer to her body, wanting to shield her from the world and all of this. Emily could tell that the brunette had regretting bring up the conversation, knew that she had put a damper on the rest of the evening.

“It’s fine, Spence. Really.” The blonde smiled up at the girl, pulling away from the hug and almost gliding back to Emily’s side melting into the brunette.

“Guys, please make sure you are careful getting home. I’m not patrolling tonight, this one is making me take a night off.”

“So you should, you look like shit Ali,” Hanna said as she turned to walk to her car, throwing a wave over the back of her shoulder.

“Well, I think I’m going to do some late night shopping and order some bars for my window,” Aria said as she hugged the two girls, the playful demeanour of the girl making the others laugh at her joke. Moments later, it was just the two of them as they watched the red lights disappeared down the street, leaving them alone in the night breeze with nothing but the stars and silence to accompany them.

“I better go too.”

“Em.”

“Yeah?”

“Will you stay with me tonight?”

Emily’s mouth opened and closed, almost lost for words. She flashbacked to the night that Alison had asked her that same question, it had come from a place of fear and loneliness. The brunette couldn’t say no, she had never been able to say no to the blonde.

“Yeah, of course.”

\--

“That was just Hanna, she wanted me to know that she and Aria got home safe.” Alison said as she walked back into the master bedroom, seeing Emily rummaging through one of her bedroom drawers. “You looking for something?”

“I didn’t bring clothes. Do you, uh, still have those navy blue ones I left here?”

A smile came over the blonde as she walked over to a different dresser, opening the top draw as she dug around the contents. She retrieved navy blue pineapple pyjamas that Emily had left all those years ago, after their night together. Alison had meant to get rid of them during the five-year gap, and she had, almost. She would get so close to tossing them out, but she could never push herself to do it. It felt like if she did, she’d be throwing away a crucial part of her past.

She clutched them closer to herself before walking back over to Emily, handing them over with a somewhat pained smile, her decisions of the night morning dawning on her. She’d never felt such regret about her own actions.

“I can’t believe you still have them.”

“Em. I never had the heart to get rid of them, not after…”

“Hey,” Emily dropped her clothing on the bed before stepping closer to Alison, the two almost standing on each other’s feet as the brunette raised her hands to cup her face, “You know, that was probably the best night of my life.”

“It _was_ the best of mine,” Alison absent-mindedly leant into the brunette’s touch, relishing in the cold of Emily’s fingers against her face. Silence fell over the two of them, both of the girl’s content to just lose themselves in each other’s eyes. Alison brought her own hand up to cup the one Emily had resting against her face, before breaking the silence. “I’ve missed this.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

“I missed you.” Alison sighed.

Emily’s face crack into a 100-watt smile, as a few tears pricked the corners of her eyes. It was almost like she had been waiting patiently for the blonde to say that for years, had waited for the confirmation to the unanswered question of so long ago. Right now, in this moment, Alison wasn’t playing any games with her. She wasn’t being led on only to be rejected. Emily hadn’t seen the old Alison for years, and she knew that what she was about to do next wouldn’t be thrown back in her face like old times.

The brunette surged forward, capturing the girl in a kiss that was long overdue. Emily ran her fingers deeper into Alison’s hair, tangling them into the wild curls as she pulled the blonde closer to her. A moan trickled from Alison as they broke away, her eyes fluttered open to catch Emily’s brown orbs looking back at her, her pupil’s darkened and so very easy to get lost in. Alison pulled her back in this time, nibbling on her lip before gaining entrance into the brunette’s mouth.

The two of them stumbled back to the bed, Alison firmly pushing the girl down before stepping between her legs. Emily snuggled her head into the blonde’s chest, relishing in the warmth that radiated from her, and the feeling of safeness that washed over her as Alison snaked her arms around her neck placing soft kisses to the top of her head.

“Can we just stay like this forever?”

Alison laughed at how muffled the girl sounded, the vibrations from it making Emily smile into the girl’s chest, “What?”

Emily raised her head, bringing her hands up to curl around each of the blonde’s thighs, pulling her closer. “Can we stay like this forever?”

“Of course, for as long as you want,” Alison bent down to lay a few open mouthed tender kisses to Emily’s neck, suckling for a short while as she did so. “But, it’d be comfier if we both laid down on the bed.”

“Are you trying to get me into bed before you’ve even taken me on a date?” Emily scoffed.

“I’d never,” A smirk plastered on Alison’s mouth as she laid a hand on Emily’s chest, pushing her down on the bed and crawling on top of her. The blonde smiled once again when she found Emily’s sweet spot, as the brunette let out a low moan and dug her nails into the back of Alison’s shirt.

\--

It was nearing midnight and Emily still couldn’t get to sleep, she was currently wrapped around Alison, her arm draped across her bare torso and absent-mindedly drew circles on her stomach. She had been in and out of sleep for the entire night, her mind plagued with the thoughts of what tomorrow would hold. Flashbacks of the next morning after their first night together flashed through her mind, haunting her like a bad movie you couldn’t unsee.

_She stretched her arm out, expecting to curl into the body that had been there just moments ago, but was welcomed with empty space. Emily opened her eyes, sitting up right as she pulled the covers around her naked body. Last night had been a dream come true, she had relished in how it felt to finally be with her high school love. She’d fallen in love with every moment, and had fallen even deeper in love with her at every moan or writhe of ecstasy._

_Emily smiled to herself, touched her bruised lips gently savouring the memory of it all. She shook herself out of the daze that she was in and got up to get changed, letting the sheet drop from her body._

_“Knock, knock.”_

_“Yeah, uh, hold on,” Emily scrambled to put her jeans on, buttoning them just as the blonde entered the room._

_“Morning,” Alison greeted her, placing her own coffee down on her bedside table and moving over to hand Emily’s hers. The brunette thanked her, taking a sip before stepping closer and pressing a kiss to Alison’s lips._

_“Em,” The blonde pushed away, the same tone of voice echoed through Emily’s mind and it dredged up memories from the past when Alison would play with her feelings. She hoped to whatever God, that she wasn’t doing the same._

_But, she was. Emily didn’t hear much other than that last night was a mistake, she had been scared and lonely. Mistake, it rattled around her head. What had she possibly thought would happen? That Alison would welcome her with open arms in the morning, ready to hop on a pride float and say that she was her girlfriend. Of course not, Alison was the master at using and abusing people, Emily knew this better than anyone else._

_It had all just been one of the many games she played. Nothing more._

_Emily left with tears in her eyes that morning._

“Ali.”

The blonde hummed in response, shifting slowly so she could face the girl. Alison slid her own arms around the brunette’s body, pulling her closer so she could snuggle into the crook of her neck, placing lazy kisses on the warm skin.

“You never told me why that wolf was after me that night.” Emily felt the blonde go rigid. Alison’s breathing caught in her throat as she stopped the patterns she had been tracing on Emily’s exposed back.

“I never told you, because, it’s a hard topic to bring up,” Alison met the brunette’s eyes, the worry in her own face evident to the girl. She had given up trying to hide her feelings from Emily, knowing that she knew her too well for that to work anymore.

“Babe, what is it?”

“Well, there’s a reason that we always find our way back to each other. When shape-shifter’s come of age, after the first phase, we are able to imprint on people-”

“Imprint?”

“Yes, we imprint when we find our soul mates. When it happens, it’s like our eyes are finally open. Like everything before that moment had been in a haze, and we had been muted to the way the world was actually meant to be experienced in.”

The blonde stopped herself, and Emily could tell she was thinking of what to say next, could swear she saw the cogs in her head turning and ticking along.

“It’s not like movies, where it’s love at first sight. Not really. It’s more like, gravity moves without you, like Earth no longer has any part of keeping you here. They do. And everything else pales in comparison to them.”

“Ali, why are you telling me this?” Emily had a good idea why she had just been informed of this, but needed the verbal confirmation. She refused to let her hopes run wild, although the nagging at the back of her mind was a constant scream of what the blonde would say next.

“Em, you’re my gravity”

**Author's Note:**

> I must give credit where credit is due, whymsically who was previously on here actually wrote the first two chapters of this story about a year ago. When I came back to check if they had updated, I found the story had been taken down.
> 
> Being the hoarder that I am, I had already saved the story to read on my way to work, I decided to beef up, re-write the first two chapters and write the story myself, because I fell in love with the world that whymsically had created and was sad to see that they weren't going to continue it!  
> I even have 1.4k worth of back story (along with pictures) that I'll publish as well.


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